NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament: East Regional preview

Virginia's Joe Harris (12) celebrates after defeating Duke in an NCAA college basketball game in the championship of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament in Greensboro, N.C., Sunday, March 16, 2014. Virginia won 72-63. (AP Photo/Bob Leverone)

Five days after Christmas, Virginia was the furthest thing from a national title contender.

The Cavaliers had just suffered a humiliating 35-point loss at Tennessee, dropping to a pedestrian 6-3. Players, coaches and fans were scratching their heads.

Joe Harris went searching for answers.

One day after the Nightmare in Knoxville, the senior sharpshooter reportedly drove to Tony Bennett’s house to let the coach know the team would respond. Since that defeat, Virginia has won 19 of 21 games en route to winning the Atlantic Coast Conference regular season and tournament championships, the latter for the first time since 1976.

By the Numbers

17 - Consecutive trips to the NCAA Tournament for Michigan State, the second-most in Big Ten history. (Indiana, 18, 1986-2003)

4 - Number of teams Coastal Carolina coach Cliff Ellis has led to the NCAA Tournament.

“I was just very disappointed with how the season had gone up to that point,” Harris told the Roanoke (Va.) Times. “Something had to change, so I went out there and we talked for a little while.”

A little while turned into four hours. Four hours has turned into a dominating stretch of basketball.

Favorite: Virginia

The Cavaliers are downright intimidating on defense. Their 55.3 points per game allowed are the fewest among all Division I teams, and their 38.5 field-goal percentage defense ranks ninth. Virginia limited Duke to 38 percent shooting in its 72-63 victory over the Blue Devils in the ACC title game Sunday.

Sleeper: Cincinnati

Harvard quickly became a trendy 12-over-5 upset prediction once the bracket was announced, but the Bearcats, led by American Athletic Conference leading scorer Sean Kilpatrick (20.7 ppg), possess the defense to give the Crimson fits. The 58.3 points per game Cincinnati allowed are the fifth-fewest in the country.

Upset alert: Providence over North Carolina

The new Big East isn’t the old Big East, but winning the league’s tournament — including a victory over Creighton in the title game — has the Friars feeling confident. Bryce Cotton, who scored 23.4 points per game during Big East games, could be the answer to North Carolina star guard Marcus Paige.

Bracket breakdown

If you love a picture-perfect defensive stance as much as a lob dunk, this region is for you. Virginia, Cincinnati, Harvard, Michigan State and even N.C. Central are among the country’s best defensive teams. Of course, third-seeded Iowa State — the second-highest scoring team in the tournament at 82.9 points per game — could make enough shots to escape the region.